Auction fraud is
among the top Internet scams that has defrauded
many surfers. Overwhelming urge for that "unbelievable
deal" or plain inexperience are main reasons
for defrauding oneself.
Here are a few safeguards to help you protect
against on-line auction scams
Look before you Leap
Always read the product description carefully.
Watch out for "trade words" or phrases
that give you a clue to veracity of seller's claim.
Fraudsters use catchy but meaningless or misleading
words and phrases to fool unsuspecting buyers.
For example, if a ring is sold with the description
"2 carat diamond simulant," don't bid
unless you know what "simulant" means.
(It means basically "anything that looks
like a diamond.") If description contains
words that makes no sense or makes you wonder
- check with the seller before bidding.
All that Glitters are not Gold
Lot of capital letters and/or exclamation marks
in title could point towards a greenhorn or fraud.
Sometimes, sellers use hype and lots of adjectives
to fool buyers. However, as I said, it could also
mean a greenhorn who is over-enthusiastic about
his/her products. I addition, if the price is
also high - be wary of the product.
True but Confusing Quotes
Sometimes, in their over eagerness, buyers confuse
themselves with valid but misleading price quote.
For example, if someone quotes a price based on
a guide (listed at $99 in the 1990 price guide
of ...) - find out more about the guide. Is it
a wholesale price or retail price ? Has the price
remained same or gone down ? It is wrong to assume
that price of all collectibles go up with time.
Never accept price quotes, even verifiable ones,
as indicator of true value of a product. Find
the current value and decide for yourself what
should be market price. Remember, you are the
market...
Research Your Product
Do some background work on what you're bidding
on, or get help from someone who knows. This is
especially important when buying anything on which
you expect to make a profit/ investment return.
For example, you can find sellers on eBay offering
"2000 Carats Of Emerald Rough For $20."
To most people, that would sound absolutely too
good to be true. However, it's not. Though the
statement is technically correct, the product
is not exactly what you thought. There's a significant
difference between "emerald rough" and
"rough emeralds."
A Little check always helps
Always search through past auction records of
similar items, specially note the price it was
sold for. If same product was sold by different
sellers at around the same price, you can reasonably
expect that to be the market price. Do not bid
higher unless the product is unusual in some significant
way. Also, search past auction records by the
seller. If you find lot of unsold auctions by
the seller, there may be some good reason. Be
especially wary, if other sellers successfully
sold same product in the same period.
Reality vs. Virtual Reality
Check picture quality and dimensions of actual
product. Scale of image could be quite misleading.
Ideally, the product should have images from multiple
angles with full specifications, material and
conditions of sale.
Learn from the past
One of the most important source of information
is feedback from other sellers and buyers. However,
one should be careful while evaluating a seller
as few negative ratings against overwhelming positive
ones may not mean much. Sometimes, people use
threat of negative feedback to extort some advantage
and there are some people who always complain.
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